Book Review | Nine Perfect Strangers #20booksofsummer2025

One of my holiday reads, and one that I have had on my list for a while.

---

Nine Perfect Strangers
Liane Moriarty

One house. Nine strangers. Ten days that will change everything . . .

The retreat at health-and-wellness resort Tranquillum House promises total transformation.

Nine stressed city dwellers are keen to drop their literal and mental baggage, and absorb the meditative ambience while enjoying their hot stone massages.

Miles from anywhere, without cars or phones, they have no way to reach the outside world. Just time to think about themselves, and get to know each other.

Watching over them is the resort’s director, a woman on a mission. But quite a different one from any the guests might have imagined.

For behind the retreat’s glamorous facade lies a dark agenda.

These nine perfect strangers have no idea what’s about to hit them . . .

Bookshop.org | Goodreads | The StoryGraph | Amazon

---

I have read a couple of this author’s books before and enjoyed them, so I was looking forward to reading this. Especially because it has been turned into a TV series, so it means I can finally watch it.

This one felt a little slow to start, and I wasn’t sure it was going to have the same magic that I felt when reading Big Little Lies, but oh boy, does this one gently pull you in until you are hooked.

I was fascinated by these characters and how they found themselves at Tranquillam House. I enjoyed that we got to know them slowly and that we got each of their perspectives because I could feel my opinions of everyone, which were formed from other characters’ views, slowly change as I discovered more about their back stories. 

The retreat sounded so lovely at first, who wouldn’t want personalised meals and exercise plans in the grounds of a lovely house, and a bit of a detox from the digital world and the easy, unhealthy food? It all starts to unravel in very interesting and kind of creepy ways. I don’t want to say too much because this is a book that you really have to experience, getting to know the place and the characters to appreciate the story fully.

I really liked how, at points throughout the story, the author was poking fun at herself a little through one of the characters, who happened to be my favourite. It did make me chuckle that I had had a thought that she later referenced, I know it sounds cryptic, but I don’t want to say more than that. 

I’m glad I stuck with this one because it was a treat, with an unexpected story and an interesting cast of characters. I am looking forward to the next book I pick up by this author. 

Reviews of other books by Liane Moriarty
Big Little Lies | Apples Never Fall